ATLANTA, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlantic Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that new patents have been issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) relating to its tamper-resistant SMART/Script drug delivery platform. U.S. Patent Nos. 8,187,636 and 8,349,362 contain claims that cover Atlantic's proprietary tamper-resistant platform which are designed to resist dose dumping of orally delivered opioids and may sequester and reduce drug release of a drug that has been subjected to a variety of physical methods of tampering. The technology can be applied to immediate as well as sustained release drug candidates.

"We believe SMART/Script is a unique technology that may have a significant effect on prescription drug abuse and misuse," said Anthony Soscia, President of Atlantic Pharmaceuticals. "These patents further add to our intellectual property portfolio and provide us with extensive coverage until 2028 for our novel, tamper-resistant technology."

About SMART/Script

SMART/Script (SMART, Simple, controllable, resistant, insoluble, physical trap), a novel, patented drug delivery platform, was designed to prevent easy drug extraction and to deter the abuse of medications via known routes of abuse, including chewing, snorting, and injecting. Orally delivered tamper-prone pharmaceuticals are frequently subjected to abuse and misuse via chewing and swallowing or crushing and either snorting or injecting the resultant powdered drug. A product formulated with SMART/Script however, resists dose dumping in water or alcohol and can be used with a broad range of opioids and non-opioids in immediate or extended release forms. SMART/Script is also unique among competitive technologies in that physical tampering of the dosage form may reduce the release rate of the drug from the dosage when subject to certain forms of physical tampering as opposed to increasing it.

About Atlantic Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Atlantic Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company using its patented technology to produce novel therapeutics that resist attempts at tampering and may be useful to reduce abuse of certain prescription drugs. Based on the Company's proprietary technology, SMART/Script, Atlantic is developing a pipeline of tamper-resistant opioids that are nearing pivotal testing.

The Company's lead SMART/Script candidate, ATLP-02, is an immediate release formulation of oxycodone that is in development and will be covered by the issued patents. In addition, these patents will also cover other product candidates being formulated using the SMART/Script technology. The Company finalized a Pre-Investigational New Drug Meeting with the FDA in March of 2011 for ATLP-02. SMART/Script has also been recognized as a leading technology that may potentially decrease tampering with medication by the Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence. Please visit atlanticpharma.com for more information.